Metal & High Heelshttp://metal-and-highheels.com
Metal & High Heels - Metal music, Lifestyle & Entertainment in one place.Wed, 16 Jan 2019 11:58:32 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.3M&H 39 – Gender Equalityhttp://metal-and-highheels.com/podcast/mh-39-gender-equality/
http://metal-and-highheels.com/podcast/mh-39-gender-equality/#respondTue, 15 Jan 2019 09:00:08 +0000http://metal-and-highheels.com/?p=8595Feminism is a topic we have discussed several times in different contexts, but for this episode of the Metal & High Heels Podcast, Pia wanted to take a look at the aspects of sexism that discriminate against men.

We went into controversial territories but navigated those dangerous waters and steered the conversation back to a productive direction. We came to the conclusion that all stereotypes and the consequences they bring should change and evolve – if not disappear completely. Just let people be, let us all just be ourselves in peace. Isn’t that a nice resolution for 2019? Happy new year, by the way!

Podcast Episode 39 – Metal & High Heels Playlist On Spotify:

Have you thought about how sexism affects men negatively? Tell us in the comments – and share this article! You can also send a short voice message to our Facebook page to have your voice played on the show! Or tweet at us: @metalhighheels!

SONATA ARCTICA is one of Finland’s best-known Power Metal band that – having been a band for over 20 years – can look back to 10 studio albums, 3 Live albums, and 2 best-of albums. Because of all the collaborations that frontman Tony Kakko has done in the past, it’s hard to avoid his voice in metal songs. SONATA ARCTICA has played almost everywhere and on every festival but they have never done an acoustic tour in the past.

After over 20 years of music, SONATA ARCTICA does their very first acoustic tour!

Now the time has come for a premiere: after over 20 years in SONATA ARCTICA history, the band is doing their very first acoustic tour! With the name “Acoustic Adventures in Europe 2019” they will play over 20 shows in Europe with a special set list and songs we never have heard in this way.

During this tour, the band will play 10 shows in their home, Finland, but also the rest of Europe can feel lucky because SONATA ARCTICA will visit many different countries to reach as many fans as possible with this unique show.

The “Christuskirche” is so beautiful for concerts with such a special
sound.

Don’t miss SONATA ARCTICA‘s special tour because they might never do another acoustic tour!

For the fans in West-Germany, I really recommend the show in Bochum because the “Christuskirche” is so beautiful for concerts with such a special sound. I really love attending concerts there because you never go home disappointed, you go home very impressed by the atmosphere during the concert – there is something you can’t explain, you must feel it!

SONATA ARCTICA’s tour dates in Germany 2019

16.03.2019 Hamburg – Fabrik, Germany

21.03.2019 Aschaffenburg – Colos-saal, Germany

27.03.2019 Nurnberg – Hirsch, Germany

29.03.2019 Stuttgart – Im Wizemann (Club), Germany

30.03.2019 Bochum – Christuskirche, Germany

Upcoming SONATA ARCTICA Tour dates

Ticket price depends on the venue and city and is approximately 36 Euro. For more Information about this acoustic tour and the following North American tour with KAMELOT in the autumn please visitSONATA ARCTICA’s Website.

Are you going to see SONATA ARCTICA live this year? Where?
Tell us in the comments!

]]>http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/sonata-arcticas-very-first-european-acoustic-tour-2019/feed/0DISTURBED “Evolution” world tour 2019http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/disturbed-evolution-world-tour-2019/
http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/disturbed-evolution-world-tour-2019/#respondMon, 14 Jan 2019 14:41:18 +0000http://metal-and-highheels.com/?p=8605On October 19thDISTURBED released their brand new album called “Evolution”. Their cover version of “The Sound Of Silence” has been played non-stop on every radio station since its release. For sure “The Sound Of Silence” is a pretty calm song and doesn’t represent the band’s sound in general, but it presents the band’s variety and also the extremely strong voice of singer David Draiman.

“Evolution” is DISTURBED’s 7th album and with it they’re back on top of the charts.

After they released “Immortalized” in 2015 it was a little bit calmer around the band which is already doing music since 1994. “Evolution” is DISTURBED‘s 7th album and with this, they hit the top of the charts again. Now finally the waiting is over and the band is back on the road with a very extended world tour! It’s not a big surprise that many of the gigs were sold out shortly after the presale started. Naturally, the fans are happy about the new album and the upcoming tour and so are we.

DISTURBED’S tour dates in Germany 2019

25.04.2019 Munich – Zenith

28.04.2019 Hamburg – Sporthalle

04.05.2019 Berlin – Verti Music Hall

06.05.2019 Cologne – Palladium

All of DISTURBED’s international tour dates:

There are also VIP tickets available for many of the gigs. For more information about Ticket prices and VIP tickets, please visit DISTURBED’s website. But don’t wait too long ordering your tickets, many venues are already sold out!

Are you going to see DISTURBED live this year? Where? Tell us in the comments!

Mark Tremonti releasedhis 4th solo-album – as TREMONTI – in May. After a very successful summer with a lot of festival gigs and a headlining European tour, he was back for the second part of his tour.

After four albums, one thing’s for sure: Mark is not only a great guitar player and songwriter – a fact we all know from his history with ALTER BRIDGE and CREED – but also an amazing singer, which maybe comes too short in ALTER BRIDGE.

DISCONNECTED and THE RAVEN AGE warmed up the audience for TREMONTI in Cologne.

Surely, TREMONTI didn’t do this tour alone. Both the opener, DISCONNECTED from France, and the support, THE RAVEN AGE, are good friends of Mark and you can see them touring with TREMONTI often.

Playing as the opener for a bigger band is always a hard job: the venue mostly fills up slowly, the concertgoers actually only want to see the main act and most of the people don’t know the opener’s repertoire to sing along.

The very young DISCONNECTED performed like an experienced band so that I thought that they’ve been playing for quite a long time. However, DISCONNECTED is a brand new band from France that released their very first album in March. So the tour with TREMONTI was the first big tour they‘ve ever done. I could see and feel that the band was very thankful and proud – and they had a lot of fun on stage! Very powerful performance from the start to the end. When the singer, Ivan, explained that this band is brand new, I couldn’t believe his words.

DISCONNECTED calls their music “Modern Metal”, it’s a melodic mix of hard and soft tunes. For this evening as well as this tour, this combination fit perfectly. For the young French band, this tour must have been a jackpot and I’m pretty sure they got many new fans. The response of the audience couldn’t have been any better. It was a great start to this evening.

The audience in Cologne went crazy for THE RAVEN AGE.

THE RAVEN AGE isn’t unknown to TREMONTI fans. You can often see both bands touring together because they love each other and are true friends. During the TREMONTI show later this evening Mark often mentioned their friendship.

THE RAVEN AGE had an easy job connecting with the audience because most of them already know and love them. The “Melodic Metal” band from London has won some great awards in the past and are very successful with their music. And this was very obvious in Cologne! I’m sure this wasn’t the last time we saw TREMONTI touring with THE RAVEN AGE!

Mark TREMONTI sings great on records but his voice live is just the bomb!

Now, after two great performances, the waiting was over and TREMONTI started their amazing and powerful show. For the fans there was no hold anymore – the venue went crazy!

The set consisted of a good mix of all albums with the focus of the new one “A Dying Machine”, for sure. It was a little bit strange that the show was so heavy because “Dust” was actually a softer album. It was a nice surprise and the fans loved it!

It was a perfect performance! Great setlist, great voice, the band had a lot of fun on stage. But then there was the fog. Fog can be art during a show but during the TREMONTI show in Cologne, it was just too much. In the first rows, it wasn’t as bad, you still could see the faces of the musicians, but the bigger the distance to the stage, the more the band disappeared.

The other problem was the sound, and this was very disappointing. The drums were just too loud. Mark sounded amazing, but only as long as the drums weren’t playing. So most of the time it was hard to follow the lyrics and Mark’s voice. I’m not sure what the problem was this time, but three years ago TREMONTI played in the same location and the sound was amazing.

Apart from the excessive fog and the bad sound, the lightshow was awesome! Depending on the color of the light, TREMONTI‘s banner looked like it was in 3D. All in all, it could have been a perfect show but this evening in Cologne was surely not the best gig on their tour.

For me, the best moment of the show was when TREMONTI played “Dust” and during the first half of the song, the audience’s phones were the only stage lighting. It was amazing how bright it was with only phones’ flashlights. Truly a highlight!

Bad sound and too much fog destroyed TREMONTI’s show in Cologne.

The evening left me with mixed feelings. On ,one hand the two support bands did an amazing job and especially DISCONNECTED was a great surprise. But then there was the bad sound and fog during TREMONTI, which destroyed the show of this amazing live band.

Nevertheless, the fans loved this gig and that’s what matters most. Most people don’t care about the sound or their view of the stage. They just want to have a great evening and that is what the audience had.

Have you been to one of the past TREMONTI shows? Tell us in the comments!

]]>http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/tremonti-cologne-08-12-2018/feed/0ANN MY GUARD – “Moira”http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/ann-my-guard-moira/
http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/ann-my-guard-moira/#respondFri, 04 Jan 2019 15:50:30 +0000http://metal-and-highheels.com/?p=8578It’s the time of the witches! While the TV series Sabrina got a makeover – a feministic one -, people start to be interested in witches and the Wicca cult in a good way. Or at least better than in the past. Being called a witch is not always a compliment, but I feel like it starts to become a mini movement. More and more women around me identify with the idea of witches being strong and independent women who fight for their rights. For them, “Moira”, the new output by ANN MY GUARD, is a good soundtrack for this way of life.

“Moira” is psychedelic and rocking at the same time, but the spirit is different compared to bands like LUCIFER, MYRKUR, DJERV, KADAVER, … ANN MY GUARD are more down to earth, bringing the spirits to us instead of creating a kind of drug frenzy with their sound. Also, the lyrics are not morbid or deathwishing, even though, at least “The day I die” deals with the topic or afterlife or rebirth. ANN MY GUARD embrace the darkness in a positive way, seeing it as a part of human beings instead of something people have to hide.

ANN MY GUARD’s music and “Moira” in particular are mind-expanding.

The songs deal with topics from what we would call world of the witches: rebirth, summoning, spirits, death and spirits. Their point of view is more natural and philosophical than I know from other bands. The music itself underlines this with a unique mixture of rocky sounds, psychedelic elements, calm moments, headbangers and Anna‘s special voice and her ability to vary between many different vocal styles. Outstanding for this kind of music is that she has a very light voice, even in the deeper notes.

In times of Apple Music and Spotify, I can only recommend giving ANN MY GUARD a listen and especially this album. “Moira” is different from the previous releases, and in our interview, Anna agreed that it’s kind of the dark twin of “Ourania”. If they follow their way – which I hope – ANN MY GUARD won’t become one of the big names, but a unique band with a great fanbase that will stick with them forever.

Tracklist

The Descent

Sacred I

Mountain II

Elijah

Roseblood

Metera

Echo

The day I die

The Raven

Morpheus

Music videos

]]>http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/ann-my-guard-moira/feed/0APOPTYGMA BERZERK playing some selected shows in 2019http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/apoptygma-berzerk-playing-some-selected-shows-in-2019/
http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/apoptygma-berzerk-playing-some-selected-shows-in-2019/#respondThu, 03 Jan 2019 15:22:18 +0000http://metal-and-highheels.com/?p=8569While APOPTYGMA BERZERK played only selected shows and festivals in 2017 and 2018, they are recently writing songs for the upcoming album aiming for a release in January 2019 and followed by a worldwide tour starting in spring. It will represent again all the qualities of APOPTYGMA BERZERK most successful sounds, which their fans adore for more than 20 years now. High Energy Electronic Music meets powerful beats and catchy melodies. APOPTYGMA BERZERK is back as strong as ever. Currently, they are also celebrating their 25th anniversary with an “SDGXXV EP”.

“The SDGXXV album is a re-recording/reworked version of “Soli Deo Gloria”, but with 18 guest artists. So, the tracks are the same, but the versions are made in 2018, 25 years after the original was released.”

So it’s a must have for every APOPTYGMA BERZERK fan and visiting one of their shows will be worth the travel for sure!

APOPTYGMA BERZERK will obviously play some new stuff at these shows. The old earwigs are great, but we all are ready for something new, for new earwigs, for new songs and for sure, more live gigs! After 25 years of amazing music, it’s time to attend one of these shows for me!

For the single shows, not the festivals for sure, APOPTYGMA BERZERK has VILE ELECTRODES as special guest. The synth-pop duo from England should be the perfect combination for a perfect concert with a lot of amazing music.

Are you going to see APOPTYGMA BERZERK live this year? Where? Or did you see them in the past? Tell us in the comments!

]]>http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/apoptygma-berzerk-playing-some-selected-shows-in-2019/feed/0MIKE SHINODA „Post Traumatic“ European tour 2019http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/mike-shinoda-post-traumatic-european-tour-2019/
http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/mike-shinoda-post-traumatic-european-tour-2019/#respondThu, 03 Jan 2019 15:16:48 +0000http://metal-and-highheels.com/?p=8565After the tragic loss of his best friend and bandmate Chester Bennington, who died due to depression, it wasn’t sure if LINKIN PARK will go on existing. Losing a friend or a family member can rip a deep and big hole into someone’s life. Sure, it was a shock for every fan and, if you take a look on social media, you still can see how much Chester is missed and loved.

Past year, MIKE SHINODA released his solo album “Post Traumatic“ and played sold out shows all over the world. With this album, he found a way to deal with his loss. On this album, we can hear him and his voice like we never heart him before. He is accompanied by many guests like BLACKBEAR, MACHINA GUN KELLY or Chino Moreno from the DEFTONES. I don’t need to mention that MIKE SHINODA created a unique album – we all already know that.

Don’t miss one of these shows! Past year, all my friends went home very happy, becasue they were a part of such a unique event. This year, we want to be a part of it, too!

Ticket prices depend on which date and country you are going to attend and is round about 50 euro. Don’t wait too long, last year the gigs were sold out fast!

Are you going to see MIKE SHINODA live in Europe this year? Where? Tell us in the comments!

]]>http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/mike-shinoda-post-traumatic-european-tour-2019/feed/0Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators „Living The Dream“ European tour 2019http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/slash-ft-myles-kennedy-the-conspirators-living-the-dream-european-tour-2019/
http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/slash-ft-myles-kennedy-the-conspirators-living-the-dream-european-tour-2019/#respondThu, 03 Jan 2019 15:12:40 +0000http://metal-and-highheels.com/?p=8560It seems SLASH and MYLES KENNEDY never rest. SLASH did an extended world tour with GUNS‘N ROSES. MYLES toured with ALTER BRIDGE and solo and in between, he did “Living The Dream” with SLASH & THE CONSPIRATORS and will hit the road with them.

It’s been quite a long time since the power combo released “World on Fire” and played a lot of gigs and festivals. After it was clear that GUNS ‘N ROSES reunited with SLASH,it wasn’t sure, if there will be a further SLASH ft. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS album in the future. Fortunately, the combo found time to create a new masterpiece and will come back to Europe with a headline tour and in summer for some festivals.

The long wait is over now; pretty soon SLASH ft. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS are back on the road:

Ticket prices depend on which date and country you are going to visit and is round about 60 euro. Please note: Many gigs are already sold out! So if you want to attend a show, you shouldn’t wait too long to order your tickets!

Are you going to see SLASH ft. MYLES KENNDY & THE CONSPIRATORS live in Europe this year? In which place? Tell us in the comments!

]]>http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/slash-ft-myles-kennedy-the-conspirators-living-the-dream-european-tour-2019/feed/0M&H 38 – ANN MY GUARDhttp://metal-and-highheels.com/podcast/mh-38-ann-my-guard/
http://metal-and-highheels.com/podcast/mh-38-ann-my-guard/#respondThu, 20 Dec 2018 18:46:40 +0000http://metal-and-highheels.com/?p=8550Pia had an interview with bassist and frontwoman Anna from Hungarian band ANN MY GUARD. She also reviews their album “Moira”, which was released in October 2018.

It’s the first solo episode we ever did! So she took the chance to spread news about bands like CHILDREN OF BODOM, IN FLAMES and a band she just discovered: CURRENTS.

For this is the last episode of 2018: Merry Christmas to all of you and a happy new year!

Podcast Episode 38 – ANN MY GUARD Playlist On Spotify:

]]>http://metal-and-highheels.com/podcast/mh-38-ann-my-guard/feed/0NIGHTWISH – Frankfurt (05-12-2018)http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/nightwish-frankfurt-05-12-2018/
http://metal-and-highheels.com/music/nightwish-frankfurt-05-12-2018/#respondThu, 20 Dec 2018 18:06:53 +0000http://metal-and-highheels.com/?p=8521After two decades active, NIGHTWISH is one of the most successful metal bands in our time and one with the most epic songs, too. Every one of us knows at least one song by NIGHTWISH. For some of us, NIGHTWISH has been our favorite band at some point or another. The spectrum of different styles and sounds convince listeners in every genre and every age, even though many of us were little kids or not even born, yet, when NIGHTWISH started back in 1996. Now their successful “Decades”-tour is over. We were lucky to see the show in Frankfurt.

From the first minute of BEAST IN BLACK’s set until the end there was a very special atmosphere at the Festhalle in Frankfurt.

NIGHTWISH is one of the most successful metal bands in our time, so no wonder that they want to share the stage with a band which is as powerful as themselves and knows how to rock and how to make the audience go crazy. With BEAST IN BLACK they had the perfect band for this! The Finnish band formed in 2015 and are known for their mix of Power Metal and Heavy Metal. The most striking element is the voice of frontman Yannis. Sometimes you start to look for the female singer in a song, but then you realize that Yannis’ voice is so trained that he can sing high notes and also deep notes without any problem. This is so amazing!

Many people came early to see the opener and you could see that the concertgoers already know BEAST IN BLACK. No wonder; this band rocks! From the first minute of their set until the end there was a very special atmosphere at the Festhalle in Frankfurt. It was magical and so powerful. From the audience’s reactions, you couldn’t see that this was the opening act. You could see, they love what they do and during the whole set, every band member was smiling. A great performance is nice but seeing the band has fun on stage is so much more important! The time went by too fast. Standing ovations at the end of the show. Surely a band we will see again very soon in also well-filled venues. And now, here is some great news for everyone who likes BEAST IN BLACK as much as I do: BEAST IN BLACK will go on a big tour in 2019! I’m sure there is at least one venue close to your hometown. To find all tour dates, please check BEAST IN BLACK’s webpage!

NIGHTWISH showed that not only RAMMSTEIN can have a stunning show!

For sure, NIGHTWISH has one of the most spectacular shows in the business. But how spectacular it really is, you have to see with your own eyes. The show started with all kinds of pyro. RAMMSTEIN is pretty hot, but with this show, NIGHTWISH showed that not only RAMMSTEIN can have a stunning one! So everything started hot and the crowd was about to go crazy! A great start into an unforgettable evening!

In these two decades, NIGHTWISH has had three amazing singers. Starting with TARJA, who is still very successful in the music business and performs all over the world. The band is currently very happy with frontwoman Floor Jansen, who can sing both, the more classical songs, which were written with and for TARJA and the more musical-like songs, which Tuomas Holopainen wrote for and with ex-singer Anette Olzon. With each of these singers, NIGHTWISH could beat their own previous success and continue their story.

After two decades of amazing music, epic shows, and unique voices, NIGHTWISH celebrated their career with stunning light and pyro-show and a huge LED-Screen with the perfect film for every song.

Sometimes you forgot about the band on stage because the pictures on that screen were just too beautiful to not watch them. Musically, NIGHTWISH is phenomenal. You can search for some critical points for the show in Frankfurt but you wouldn’t find one. If you prefer Floor as a singer, or TARJA or Anette is a personal taste but Floor can sing pretty well! The performance of the band was on a different level.

It’s also a problem of arenas, but the show felt too much like a rehearsed show with exactly the same moves and words on every show. Not much interaction with the audience. Sure, Floor looked beautiful and her appearance was amazing, but if you have seen a show of this tour before you wouldn’t find significant differences. I attended the show in Oberhausen, too, and it was exactly the same show.

After such a long time NIGHTWISH has a long list of hits and earworms.

They could play for 4 hours and still many great songs would be missing from the setlist. For a 2-hour-set, it was well mixed with some surprises. Biggest one: No “Wishmaster” or “Everdream”. But “The Carpenter”, which NIGHTWISH only have played around 70 times in two decades and for which the male vocals were originally sung by Tuomas on the “Angles Fall First” album. On this tour, it was sung by Troy. Many songs were no surprise. But the fans loved the setlist and with so many great songs, it was a great ride through the band’s career. The last song of the evening was “Ghost Love Score”. I know, many fans love this song and it’s an epic one for sure. But as the last song, as an encore, NIGHTWISH has much better songs to end a show with.

NIGHTWISH is just too professional and perfect and this is why the performance itself wasn’t special.

The whole evening was nice! BEAST IN BLACK did an amazing job as an opener and for sure they went home with many new fans. The NIGHTWISH show as a whole was not bad. But the performance on stage was not satisfying for such a big band. The light show fit perfectly and again this LED Screen was just too beautiful. Not to forget to mention the pyros and fireworks. This was at a very high level! You can use pyro but NIGHTWISH used it as kind of art. But without the pyro and LED-Screen, you would get bored easily.

Also ending a show with such a long song was not the best thing they could do. Many people left the venue during this song. Maybe NIGHTWISH is just too professional and perfect and this is why the performance itself wasn’t special. Maybe because of their perfection they forgot interaction with the audience. To say some sentences between the songs is something that makes a show individual. It was more like a movie: every day you can watch exactly the same. That’s not good for a concert. With NIGHTWISH, you got an average nice show. But for a band like NIGHTWISH, the average is not what you want and expect!